“No, you won’t,” he said, running his thumb over the knife in his pocket. “Not ever.”
13
NICK SHOT AROUND THE CORNER and saw Louise being dragged down the gangway.
“Stop!” he yelled as he pounded the pavement and quickly narrowed the distance between them. “The police are on their way!”
A lie, but one that tripped up the villain. He literally stumbled, and Louise took the opportunity to shove him against the brick wall. Before the bastard could regain the advantage, Nick was on him, grabbing him by the back of his collar and jerking him so hard that he let go of the girl completely. Tearing himself free of Nick’s grip, he spun around.
Little light found its way into that section of the gangway, so the attacker’s face was just barely visible, protected by a combination of the dark and the billed cap. He began to back away, a sharp click warning Nick of real trouble if he went after the bastard. No doubt he’d intended on using the switchblade to cut Louise.
And Isabel.
Remembering that the woman he loved might have died at the bastard’s hands that morning, Nick saw red and went after him. He jumped back when he sensed more than saw the guy’s knife hand lash out, then Nick quickly advanced once more.
Ready for the next thrust, he kicked out and made contact with bone.
“Damn!”
A clatter first against brick, then sidewalk, assured Nick the other man was disarmed.
He launched himself forward for a full body tackle and sent them both flying toward the street. They landed hard and went rolling, trading punches. Try as he might, he wasn’t able to get a look at the other man’s face. He did note they were a match in build and strength. He got the bastard in the gut, but still rolling, landed beneath his attacker.
“Nick!”
Isabel’s scream from the gangway distracted him only for a second.
But that second was long enough to get his own face smashed. His head flew back and smacked the sidewalk. And in the moment he saw stars, the bastard flew to his feet, kicked Nick hard in the side and ran off.
“Nick!” Isabel screamed again as she popped out of the gangway.
He struggled to a sitting position with all intentions of getting up and following the villain. But as he made it to his feet, a frantic Isabel grabbed on to him.
“Louise! Where is she?”
Nick looked around only to realize that, once more, the teenager had disappeared.
“HOLD STILL,” ISABEL DEMANDED as she swabbed the cut over Nick’s eyebrow with hydrogen peroxide. She was fighting the urge to take him into her arms and hold him.
“Aah!” He squeezed his eyes closed and ducked away from her hand. “Enough with the Florence Nightingale routine already.”
“I still think you ought to let a doctor look at that,” she said, watching the blood ooze into his eyebrow. Breathless with wanting to touch him, to make love to him, she somehow held herself back. “You need stitches.”
“A couple of these strips will do.”
Carefully, she taped the cut shut, then cleaned up the blood. “What if you have a concussion?”
“Look into my eyes,” Nick said, his voice silky smooth and laden with suggestion.
“This is no time for joking.”
Thankfully, his pupils looked evenly dilated.
Isabel swallowed hard. How could he joke at a time like this, anyway? First she’d been freaked by Louise’s disappearance and then she’d gotten a good look at his face. Pleas to go to an ER had gotten her nowhere, but at least he’d agreed to go back to his place where she could treat his injuries.
Finishing her attempt at first aid, she said, “You’ll probably live.”
“Disappointed?”
“You’ve never given me a reason to be disappointed, Nick.” Other than when he’d turned her down earlier, which was no doubt the reason every square inch of her felt on fire now. Washing her hands in the bathroom sink, she thought about how she was to blame for his being hurt. “I’m the one—”
“Stop.” He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “Neither of us is to blame here.”
Then why was she feeling so guilty?
“I’m going to make that call now,” she choked out.
After all that had happened, they’d agreed to call the authorities. Even so, Isabel had insisted on giving her father a heads up. But that seemed to be impossible when he didn’t answer his cell phone. She could only imagine why….
Hanging up, she said, “My father’s not answering. We’ll have to wait awhile longer to bring in the police.”
Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “We shouldn’t have waited this long.”
He didn’t ask again, but the unspoken question about what she’d been hiding lay between them. Gathering her courage, Isabel decided that it was now or never.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “It’s time I told you everything, Nick.”
As she should have from the beginning. Instead, she’d made him prove that he was worthy of her trust, though almost getting himself killed had been overkill. How could she have let things go this far without confiding in him?
“So you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” he asked.
Let him be amused now. Once he knew, he would be anything but.
“The bathroom’s not the place to discuss this. Let’s go in the other room.”
“Too confining in here?”
Nick moved close enough to make her blood boil over. Ready to melt, she remembered that he’d called a halt to their deal, and she wasn’t sure where or when he would be ready to pick up. Slipping by him, glad to be free of the small space and be back in his studio, she hugged herself, willed herself to stop wanting what she couldn’t have at the moment.
The first thing she laid her eyes on was his trundle bed. Averting her gaze, she went to the window and looked down on the street. Even though the hour was late, Friday night brought the pub crawlers, so plenty of people were still out and about.
“Would it be easier if you took the hot seat?” Nick asked.
Hot. Wanting in the worst way to remove her clothing, to have nothing touching her skin but him, Isabel turned toward Nick. He indicated the stool and camera still set up as it had been the other day.
Remembering all the video fantasies of them making love that she’d been having, flushing at the memory of actually being recorded in a sexual encounter, she wondered why he would want to tape her now.
“I think I’ll just stay right here.”
“Fine.” Nick joined her, opened the window next to her and took a seat on the sill. “So spill.”
“The night before Louise disappeared, she stayed out far past her curfew,” Isabel began, rubbing at her own arms. “My father waited up for her and they had a row. I heard them arguing, but I was in bed, so I couldn’t hear what they were saying. The next morning I went to Louise’s room to talk to her. She’d been increasingly at odds with Dad, getting into trouble, and I wanted to find out why. She was gone. She’d left me a note saying she wouldn’t be back. Then I went to Dad, but he refused to elaborate on their argument…not until she actually had been gone for twenty-four hours and no one I called had seen her.”
“And then the senator told you…what?”
“That Louise said she’d come to the office looking for him and had heard his voice through the back door. She’d followed it upstairs where she’d caught him with another woman.” Such a scandal could bring down her father’s career if news got to the media, the voters being intolerant of infidelity in their public servants. “Apparently, he’s been keeping this Amber Bower for years.”
“And just upstairs from his office,” Nick mused. “How convenient for long lunches.”
It made her wonder if that’s where her father actually went when he said he was meeting with his constituents. Isabel shook her head in disgust.
“So you knew about this?” Nick asked.
“Not be
fore, no. My father isn’t perfect, but I had no idea that he was morally bankrupt.” Or that he would ever ask her to compromise herself to cover it up, the heart of her own dilemma. “I used to wonder why he and Mother spent so little time together. She always said that he had his life and she had hers and that she was perfectly satisfied with things the way they were.”
“What does she say now that Louise is on the streets?”
“She’s concerned, of course, but she’s not what you would call a strong woman. She’s never been able to handle Louise. She has always left that to me.”
“What a pair your parents make.”
“Yes, well…”
She closed her eyes for a moment and the emotions welled in her, threatening to spill over. She hugged herself, tried to make herself feel better. But the void seemed unending, as if something was irreparably split open in her. The lack of connection to loved ones would never let her feel whole.
When she opened her eyes, Nick was staring up at her, his expression thoughtful. “So your sister ran because she found out your father has a mistress.”
“Apparently.”
“Does that make sense to you? I mean Louise temporarily running away because she was shocked and her world was turned upside down is one thing. But vowing never to come back? And then there’s the matter of the mysterious stalker who wants to kill you both. There’s got to be more. What aren’t you telling me, Isabel?”
“Nothing. I promise I’m not holding anything back. That’s all I know about it.”
“Then maybe the senator hasn’t told you everything.”
She nodded. “I came to the same conclusion myself. But what more could there be? What could Louise know that someone would kill to keep secret?”
“And how did he know where to find either of you?”
A rapid pulse beat in Isabel’s throat. Trying to catch her breath, she forced out the words. “The cell phone. My father wanted me to check in.”
“I’ll bet he did. So you called him and told him where we were?” Nick asked tightly.
“I told him about Club Undercover,” she admitted. “And about the rave.”
The obscenity that came from Nick’s mouth was enough to make a sailor blush.
“My father is no murderer,” she insisted.
“Perhaps not directly,” he agreed. “The guy I waltzed with tonight was my size and strong. Probably around my age. So who fitting that description would have a motive?”
“Maybe one of the men working for him…”
“Why?”
“I don’t have a clue.”
“How about on the senator’s orders?” Nick suggested. “Otherwise, how would the bastard know where to find you or Louise?”
Isabel felt herself crumbling from the inside out. Normally, she could put up a good front, not let anyone know her true feelings. But she’d run out of whatever it took to keep up appearances. She wanted Nick to hold her and reassure her. Her body clamored for it.
“You’re saying you think our father wants Louise and me dead?”
She blinked and tears coursed down her cheeks. The thought was too much for her to bear. The possibility that her world was turning upside down…she didn’t know what was wrong with her. She’d never felt so…so needy.
Before she could get herself under control, Nick had her in his arms and was kissing her forehead. Isabel clung to him, shuddering with something akin to grief. The death of a dream was nothing to take lightly.
“You were right, you know. I’ve always done everything my father expected of me. I’ve tried everything to please him. To be the son he never had.”
“You wanted him to show that he loved you.”
“Pitiful, isn’t it?”
Gone were the hopes she had for her future. Gone was the image of her father gazing at her with pride in his eyes at her accomplishments. Gone. All gone.
“I feel like such a child,” she whispered.
The tears were coming faster now. She slashed at them with a shaky hand until Nick wiped them away for her and said, “I think every child wants his or her parents’ love, no matter our age.”
Isabel knew he, too, had been denied that.
“Father has always had my loyalty, even when I’ve seen his negative side. But this…it was too much for me to swallow and excuse. I didn’t know what to do, Nick. I had to find Louise, and until then, I didn’t want to think about anything else. My father has done so many good things for people, I didn’t want to be too hasty to cast judgment on him and open up his private transgressions to the world, too.”
“Because you still have faith that the world is basically a fair and good place.”
“Someday, I’ll get over my naiveté.”
“I hope not totally,” Nick said. “Despite current proof to the contrary, the world has a lot of fair and good people.”
“Like whom?”
“Gideon. Jerry Kramer. You.”
“Me?” Isabel stared up at Nick, her breath ragged. “I thought you didn’t much care for me.”
When he said, “I care for you, Isabel, more than you know,” her pulse sped up.
“Nick…?”
“Shh.”
When he shushed her, his face was so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath lave her cheek. Her heart thudded harder. He cared for her, despite the past.
Isabel blinked, and when a single final tear splashed her cheek, Nick quickly kissed it away.
Before she knew what was happening, his mouth was covering hers, and he was kissing her the way she’d dreamed of for years after he’d gone. She kissed him back with equal parts of passion…and love.
Of course, she had loved Nick always. Without that subconscious certainty, she couldn’t have given herself to him with such abandon. No, truthfully, she wouldn’t have done so at all.
Now it seemed that Nick felt the same way about her, and suddenly the burden she’d been carrying grew lighter. Despite the seriousness of their situation, the fact that Louise was still on the run and Isabel didn’t know why, her spirit lifted and she felt almost giddy with relief. It didn’t make sense—someone had tried to murder her that very morning and undoubtedly would have murdered Louise tonight—but suddenly she felt better than she had for days.
When Nick ended the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers and clasped her head with both hands so that she couldn’t move away from him. Not that she was eager to.
He said, “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”
“Kiss me?” She was so giddy, laughter bubbled up, just waiting to be released. “I thought all you were interested in was having your needs met.”
“So I needed to be kissed,” he admitted. “The sex was great, but…mmm…the sex was really great.”
The change in his tone nearly took away her breath. She tried to get closer, imagined she could get inside of him if she tried. “You sound as if you might regret having stopped.”
“I have my memories to keep me warm.” He grinned at her. “And, uh, there’s always the videotape.”
The word dropped like a sexual landmine between them.
“The videotape.” Wide-eyed, she pulled her head free and remembered her video fantasy. “How many women have you taped?”
“I don’t know. I’ve lost count of my subjects over the years.”
She swallowed hard and all the little video clips she’d dreamed up came flashing through her head, but rather than seeing herself, she imagined him with numerous faceless women.
“So this is a regular thing for you?” she asked sadly.
“Video is my business, remember.”
“Well, yes, but I didn’t know you were into X-rated stuff.”
Nick laughed. “You do have a naughty imagination. That’s one of the things I like about you.”
“Are you saying you don’t do pornos?”
He laughed harder and shook his head. “Sorry to disappoint you. Only that one the other day.”
Laughter e
xploded from her, as well, and amusing as her suppositions might have been, Isabel felt herself grow hot with embarrassment.
But when the laughter died, she thought about the consequences. About what would happen later, after they went to the authorities, after Louise was safe. She didn’t see how any of that would be kept out of the media. How Nick would be, and what he did for a living. What if the wrong people somehow got their hands on that tape?
Sobering, she said, “Maybe we ought to erase the tape.”
Nick’s eyebrows shot up. “Without even watching it? Are you sure that’s what you want?”
When he put it like that…
Isabel had to admit to a certain curiosity. “Watching first wouldn’t hurt.”
Watching might even inspire Nick, she decided, more than anything wanting to lose herself in him again, especially now that she knew he cared.
“I suppose from a professional point of view, you might want to check out the results of your experiment.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “Absolutely.”
Without saying a word, he drew her toward the other side of the room. He stopped at the stool and made her sit. Then he flipped a switch.
The monitor came on and there she was, big as life. She couldn’t stop from watching herself unbutton her blouse. Heat flushed through her as his hands slid around her neck, between her breasts, then lifted them…
This was better than any video in her imagination!
Isabel squirmed in her seat, her eyes glued to the monitor. The way Nick’s hands were touching her breasts…she could almost feel them on her sensitive flesh now. Her nipples pebbled and a slow, syrupy sensation invaded her thighs and the soft flesh between them.
The desire that had been plaguing her since she set eyes on him the other day multiplied.
“So what do you think?” he murmured, his lips directly next to her ear.
The only thing she could think about was having more… Only this time it would be different because they wouldn’t have to guard their feelings any longer. They would be making love, not simply having sex.
She stared at the monitor, but the fun had ended—the Isabel on the screen was composed, readying herself to leave.
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